Microsoft's Courier tablet gets more details, new video

After Gizmodo uncovered the first prototype video of Microsoft’s upcoming tablet ‘Courier’, the site has now come up with one more video clip that shows new details about the device.

Meanwhile, ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley has come across some fresh, unconfirmed details about the gizmo too, and has put them up in a long post to corroborate with what Gizmodo has already told us.

So going through both the articles, here are the new features that the Courier is most likely to have:

Smart Agenda software acts as your digital planner, keeping a track of your meetings and schedule, and also telling you what files or papers are needed for a particular conference

The pen is still used for all text input, while the fingers are used for navigational purposes, such as flicking a page, dragging an image, etc.

The search bar greatly enhances file management. It can be activated at any time and uses the pen for text input. Looking quick and smooth in the video, the search functionality seems key to the Courier interface

Any presentation or file can be shared with a contact with just two clicks, thanks to the easy-to-access contacts bar. Once shared, these presentations can be accessed by anyone on another Courier or a PC, downloadable as a Courier file, a PDF or a PowerPoint presentation.

The video shows the user browsing various sites on the Web through a wonderful Coverflow-like system; this seems a bit implausible, so we think the Coverflow-like system is meant for going through your various bookmarks. To input the site’s URL in the address bar, you still need to use the Courier Pen.

A system like Sticky Notes lets you leave a note at any point of the project, letting other users see and access your thoughts with ease.

As noted before, the ‘bind’ or ‘hinge’ between the two screens still acts as a clipboard of sorts, letting you tuck images there when transferring from one page to another.

There are quite a lot of options for designers, especially when it comes to sketching, drawing and colouring, as demonstrated at the end of the video.

The Courier is currently running on the Windows 7 OS, but will not allow users to install Windows 7 applications. The reason is that Microsoft wants an interface which is as intuitive and ‘made for touchscreen’ as the iPhone, instead of a mash-up between different platforms.

The device is currently in the ‘incubation’ stage of development and is being targeted as a delivery goal for mid-2010. Microsoft will also be make the device itself, just like with the Xbox, instead of going to third-party makers.

So what’s your take on the Microsoft Courier so far? Let us know in the comments section below…